President
Donald Trump, in one of his first Executive Orders, reissued and
expanded the Mexico City Policy (MCP) which prevents foreign
non-governmental organizations that perform or promote abortion from
receiving funds from the population account of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) unless they pledge to stop performing or promoting abortion as a method of family planning, regardless of the funding source.

The
policy was first enacted by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 following a
population conference in Mexico City and has previously been enacted by
Presidents George H. Bush and George W. Bush and repealed by Presidents
Clinton and Obama.

The Presidential Memorandum Regarding the Mexico City Policy issued by President Trump not only revokes
President Obama's Memorandum of January 23, 2009 repealing the policy
and reinstates President George W. Bush's Memorandum of January 22, 2001
restoring the Mexico City Policy but is modernized to reflect current
challenges to the protection of women and children from the violence of
abortion.

President
Trump has directed the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, to, in the fullest extent
allowed by law, "implement a plan to extend the requirements of the
reinstated Memorandum to global health assistance furnished by all
departments or agencies."

The
expansion to "all global health assistance furnished by all departments
or agencies" reflects President Trump's commitment to stop use of all
U.S. tax payer money for abortion, both in the U.S. and abroad. This
action is supported by an overwhelming 83% of Americans who do not want
to have their tax dollars used to support abortion in other countries
according to a new Marist Poll.

The
modernization of the policy also reflects the reality that a number of
organizations working in the health field, especially maternal,
reproductive and sexual health, have become the greatest proponents of
abortion. MCP will support the work of life-affirming organizations that
seek to save the lives of both mother and child and do not consider the
child "expendable".

According to Rep. Chris Smith, Co-Chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, "By
redirecting taxpayer dollars away from the international abortion
industry, President Trump has re-instituted life-affirming protections
for unborn children and their mothers. There is political consensus that
taxpayer dollars should not fund abortion and the abortion industry."

He continues,
"Without this protection in place, foreign NGOs receiving U.S.
government funds promote and perform abortion throughout the world with
the imprimatur of the United States". Smith explains that these NGOs
"also set up additional projects overseas seeking to topple pro-life
laws, imposing a new colonialism that fails to respect life-affirming
cultures."

A group of U.S. Senators-- Sens.
Mike Lee (R-UT), Steve Daines (R-MT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Ben Sasse
(R-NE), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Rand Paul (R-KY)-- issued a Senate Resolution to express "the
sense of the Senate that the Mexico City policy, or a modernized
version thereof, should be permanently established in statute. The
resolution also encourages President Trump to immediately take action to
reapply the policy."

Senator Lee stated, "The
resolution is a Congressional support document, rooted in legislative
and executive history, representing the will of the majority of
Americans to see more restrictions on funding for abortion -
restrictions President Trump can immediately impose - applied to our
foreign aid expenditures of taxpayer dollars."

Senator Ben Sasse explained his concern, "Americans
are humanitarians and the Mexico City Policy reflects our heartfelt
compassion for both moms and babies. Nebraskans, including many families
who donate to charities that heal and comfort around the world,
shouldn't be forced to export abortions with their tax dollars. We want
to support Good Samaritans, not global abortion providers."

The
two giants of the international abortion industry most affected by the
pro-life policy--International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and
Marie Stopes International (MSI)--have been defunded in the past and
again state that they refuse to comply and will not divest themselves
from their abortion activities thereby making themselves ineligible for
U.S.funding.

Additionally, the Memorandum also directs the Secretary of State "to
take all necessary actions, to the extent permitted by law, to ensure
that U.S. taxpayer dollars do not fund organizations or programs that
support or participate in the management of a program of coercive
abortion or involuntary sterilization."

UNFPA
has long been criticized for complicity with China's population control
program that routinely employs coerced abortion and forced
sterilization to force compliance. The UNFPA website for China includes a number of reports on its work and funding including on integrated sexual and reproductive health.

PNCI
extends its sincere thanks to President Donald Trump and his
administration for the reissued and modernized Mexico City Policy.

We
believe that the new policy is a giant step toward reversing the
elitist view of the former administration and its allies that abortion
of children in developing countries is an acceptable solution to poverty
and a component of sustainable development.